


Seirin’s Mind, Heart, and Soul

by bob2ff



Series: Seirin Shenanigans [4]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, Humor, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 18:50:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1439050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob2ff/pseuds/bob2ff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite her hatred of crying, Riko should have known she would end up doing so for Seirin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seirin’s Mind, Heart, and Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Written for BPS Challenge 65 (Tears).

Riko hated crying, and she  _hated_  crying in front of people even more. She prided her mind — she always thought things through, deliberating. She was  _not_  a crier — she would not let her emotions sway her. Maybe it was because she had been brought up among tough guys in her father’s gym, or maybe it was because she hated being vulnerable.

Either way, she hated crying. The only person who ever knew when she was about to cry was Hyuuga-kun. And that was by virtue of having been around her since they were both middle-schoolers.

He had seen when she had wanted to cry when her classmates had cruelly sniped that “Aida-san thinks she knows so much about sports, but she just loves getting all the attention from the boys.” She had snapped at him then — what the hell was Hyuuga-kun talking about, she _didn’t care_  what others thought about her. He had just placed an awkward arm gently around her, smiled crookedly, and said “They are all idiots, anyway.”

Riko hated that he knew her that well, hated that he could see through her well-thought out cover-up and see the tears behind anything she said, but it couldn’t be helped. She had blinked back her tears and smiled back at him.

And then she had met Teppei. He had been the first one outside of Hyuuga-kun to see through her that much. Then again, Teppei had the talent to look right through anyone and see what they were capable of. He had seen through Hyuuga-kun as well, after all.

At first, like everyone, she had figured that Teppei would be captain. And then, eventually, she had seen Hyuuga-kun was  _the_  natural choice to be captain. He was anything  _but_  the suave cool captain — she had not needed all those years of friendship to see that. Hyuuga-kun  _always_  said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and he was insecure and always so hard on himself. He was mostly hot-headed with barely any cool or calmness.

But then he became captain, and it seemed to Riko that he grew into leadership so naturally he  _must_  have been that person all along. Teppei had seen it, even when she, one of Hyuuga-kun’s oldest friends, hadn’t, with all her pride in her mind and analytical ability. Teppei had seen that Hyuuga-kun was the soul of the team— and so, he  _had_  to be captain.

He might hate the name, but Teppei was Iron Heart through and through. He was the core of the team, center in both team position and body. Even though Hyuuga-kun had been the one to sway her to coach Seirin, Teppei’s constant, supporting presence right by him had been the one that convinced her Seirin could make it to number one in Japan. His gentle smile, his unwavering determination was both comforting and inspiring at the same time. And so, it had broken  _her_  heart when he had gotten injured.

It was late evening. The orange in the sky was receding slowly, shyly, blending with the navy of twilight. Teppei had been lying on the bed, and smiled his gentle smile at her. “It’s going to be alright, Riko,” he had said.

But it  _couldn’t_  be alright. She  _knew_  what he tried to hide from the team, what he failed to hide from Hyuuga (who in turn always failed to hide anything from her). Her rational mind was screaming at her that nothing could be alright after this, their team couldn’t make it without him.

It wasn’t fair, she thought. They were only first years. They were only first years with the crazy dream of becoming number one in Japan.

Riko left the room, and met the rest of the team. Hyuuga-kun, who she thought she could always, always count on, looking lost. Izuki-kun, his pun book closed. Koganei-kun, his normal peppiness tempered, down and morose, like a wet cat. Mitobe-kun, his silence more silent than usual. Looking at all her boys like that, she couldn’t help it. She crouched down, curling into herself. There was no mindwork behind it, no possible reasoning to go through. She just cried.

They immediately panicked. Koganei-kun’s stuttered “Oh, shit.” Hyuuga-kun’s flustered arm around her as he awkwardly crouched next to her. Izuki-kun’s frantic ransacking of his pun book as he started spewing puns in an effort to make her laugh (“Want to hear some sports puns, Riko? I hope you like seafood, because I have some  _muscles_  to show you.”). Mitobe-kun’s gentle patting of her head.

She laughed despite herself, through her tears. She told herself she would be okay, Teppei would be okay, the team would be okay. And when she heard of Hyuuga’s promise to Teppei, that they would be number one in Japan  _next_ year instead, she  _knew_  they would be okay. Because Hyuuga always made brash, impulsive promises, but he worked harder than anyone else to make it true. It was just in his soul to do that.

And Teppei had so much heart, he would  _ensure_  he was with them to make it. All she had to do was fulfill  _her_  part, as the mind of the team.

So she promised herself she wouldn’t cry in front of them. At least not until they had made it.

When the tears had threatened to spill out after Seirin beat Seiho, Hyuuga-kun had patted her on the head and told her to let it go after they had won their final game.

Riko had smiled, and she did not need her mind to tell her – she knew she would be crying after the Winter Cup finals, then, in front of everyone. But Riko thought she wouldn’t mind making an exception for that one time.


End file.
